iZombie 5×3 and 5×4 Review: “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!” and “Dot Zom”

As far as mid-season episodes go, iZombie can be pretty strong, or pretty not-so-strong. That was the case with both “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!” and “Dot Zom” in that one episode will probably go down as one of my favorites in the series, whereas the other left me scratching my head and wondering why there were suddenly six or seven sub-plots starting in one episode. Such is the life of a iZombie fan.

“Dot Zom” and “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!” could not be more different. Let’s start by talking about the awesomeness that was “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!” This episode had it all: a brain-of-the-week, Rose McIver showing off another of her amazing talents (this time being dance), some killer one-liners (“I think Clive just got me pregnant”), and some quality time with my three fave characters, Liv, Clive, and Ravi. I am seriously always impressed by McIver’s endless toolbox of talents, but she can really move! I loved all of the Dirty Dancing references, and the cast genuinely looked like they were having the time of their lives.

But the episode wasn’t all completely amazing. We got see even more depressed and stressed Major (yawn), and the power dynamics between him and Peyton. I realize that this story needs to be tied up by the end of the series, but it just isn’t that interesting to me. Plus, the whole lice-testing thing was weird. I understand where the writers are going with the segregation and prejudice thing, but the arc was a little heavy-handed in this episode, particularly when we discovered that the boys at the center of the school drama were Jordan’s brothers. It felt really forced to have them suddenly want to kill humans.

The other thing that I didn’t like in “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!”, although really more hated, was the Michelle pregnancy reveal. This is totally unnecessary and it is being used as a plot device to inject drama into Clive and Dale’s relationship. Their relationship has already had enough drama! I just want them to be happy with their baby and try to live a normal life. Sure, I really liked Clive and Michelle together, but again, this story just seemed really forced. I don’t like it.

After coming off the high of “Five, Six, Seven, Ate!”, I had high hopes for “Dot Zom”, but it ended up being one of my least favorites, probably in the entire series. There were just way too many converging plots to keep straight on top of a procedural that was weirdly woven into several of the other converging side plots. I did think the identification and subsequent doxxing of zombies was interesting, but I am not sure to what end. They live in a walled city, so really the only thing that can come from this is even more violence. I don’t know what the motivation is.

There were a couple of highlights in “Dot Zom” though, mostly revolving around Blaine. For being “the enemy” this season, he sure has had very little screen time, but I am okay with what little we did have this episode. In his pursuit of wealth and fame, he is really starting to get messy, which will definitely land him in trouble. I loved the callback of the mask that was discovered by the reporter as the one he wore when committing the on-camera murder, so that was a nice touch.

Some other strong points included Clive grimacing as Liv drank brain kombucha (because gross, kombucha), and Major getting in some quality time with the zombie orphans. But seriously, that was about it. Who is this new villain guy with the metal head taking all of the Utopium and why is he after zombies? What happened to Darla? Who is Lambert really working for? Do humans really think that doxxing zombies is a good idea? I am so confused!

Overall, episodes 3 and 4 were two opposite ends of the spectrum for me. I love the procedural episodes, and I pretty much always dislike the bigger arc episodes, but with so few episodes left of the series, I will take what I can get!

Author: Erin

Erin has reviewed many shows over the years including Orphan Black, iZombie, Penny Dreadful, and Killing Eve. She has a keen eye for on-screen chemistry, and loves to tackle the subject of casting. She is also our horror aficionado. She live tweets shows, and loves to share her feelings. Erin has a BA in History, and likes to analyze the lore behind historical fiction. She attends San Diego Comic Con every year and has also attended C2E2 and WonderCon.

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